Winnipeg @ Montreal pre-game discussion.

[BBRT]

case in point.. Ceresna vs Dobson last game. Just got overmatched

Have to agree - I believe Dobson is our weakest OL resouce. I think our center (Kolankowski) is an issue also.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

We're not getting Alexander back this year.

Considering how long BA has already been out, I'm not sure wearing a cast disqualifies him from playing in the WSF in 2 weeks, but it might.

[Blue In BC]

Considering how long BA has already been out, I'm not sure wearing a cast disqualifies him from playing in the WSF in 2 weeks, but it might.

Even better if we win 1st place and don't need to play the WSF. That gives everyone that can't play next week more time to get healthy. Hopefully we don't have any serious issues in our last game.

[55StickCar]

I believe if we finish 1st we will be in the Grey Cup a couple of weeks later. Finishing 2nd and we play Rider Hide in their barn. Not impossible but not likely going to win that one.

[TecnoGenius]

Griffin was back so should be good to go. Wallace has been practicing for weeks but not active. I don't really expect to see him again. No mention of Feltmate or Ayers so they were probs practicing.

Interesting... why do you say that?  So for weeks we've had Wallace available but chose to not dress him (what roster is he on? 1G or PR?)?  But yet we didn't dress another as 7th, not even Randolph...

It will be very interesting to see if we dress IMP Randolph as 7th (unheard of for us) or as starting guard (and demote an existing guard to 7th).

One would think that after the stinky OL performance last week that we will almost certainly dress a 7th??  If we have healthy bodies, why not go back to what worked so well for us?  Why bother dressing both Halletts at FS when that's not what need to fix our immediate problems?

So in your opinion Wallace is a bust and will be let go in FA?  To me he always seemed like a great 7th for road-grading on Brady runs.  But maybe he really is just too big & slow.  Bummer if true, and further screws up our future plans regarding the OL hopper & dev.

[TecnoGenius]

We're not getting Alexander back this year.

Could play with a club.  Been a few years since we've seen that, but it's been done many times by other teams.

However, Kelly was great, so maybe no need to take the chance (hard to wrap-up players with a club).

I know one thing, I don't want another GC where we're dressing guys at 50% and they suck or leave the game (or both).  Learned that lesson.  It's not their fault... it's Mafia's fault for not laying down the law and only dressing guys who are at least 75%.  If that means we get relative n00b guys like Kelly instead of BA37, so be it.

[Blueforlife]

I think the oline can rebound from a bad outing.  We need to figure this out and fast.  Zach likely won't change but he needs to chuck that pig away more or just take the sack and protect his body.  Earlier in his career his one of his strengths was his escapability but father time has eroded that.  Hopefully we can scheme up and protect him.  Montreal is a massive test in this regard, especially if starters get reps all game.

[Jesse]

Interesting... why do you say that?  So for weeks we've had Wallace available but chose to not dress him (what roster is he on? 1G or PR?)?  But yet we didn't dress another as 7th, not even Randolph...

It will be very interesting to see if we dress IMP Randolph as 7th (unheard of for us) or as starting guard (and demote an existing guard to 7th).

One would think that after the stinky OL performance last week that we will almost certainly dress a 7th??  If we have healthy bodies, why not go back to what worked so well for us?  Why bother dressing both Halletts at FS when that's not what need to fix our immediate problems?

So in your opinion Wallace is a bust and will be let go in FA?  To me he always seemed like a great 7th for road-grading on Brady runs.  But maybe he really is just too big & slow.  Bummer if true, and further screws up our future plans regarding the OL hopper & dev.

Wallace is not a bust at all, thought he was great.

It may be a set-back, but he's on his second stint on the 6-game (It's been 8 or 9 weeks). It may be a case of not rushing a young guy into game action when he's not at 100%. Or maybe he's just simply not eligible to come back yet after a being placed on the 6-gamer another time.

But at this point of the season with a rookie OL, and with Randolph being activating and looking good, not really expecting Wallace to factor in again.

[Pete]

Our oline is effective against most teams dlines, But against a team that has a superior interior rush ie argos with Ceresna, Mtrl with Johnson we have a lot of difficulty
 I hope we go more to a max protect pkg due to following
  Mtrl uses a lot of blitzes, in a variety of forms, They are very creative (identifying these and countering with run game can be effective as it means a lb/db has left an area to blitz)
  Additional linemen can help run game especially if we can get them to second level, Randolph is quicker than Dobson/ Neufeld
  We have 4 good recievers capable of beating their dbs, don't need the 5th.(If Zach has the time)
Double team Johnson and be prepared for blitz pkgs is the key, I feel.
  Our d just needs to do what they do. Having Griffin back helps a lot

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Wallace is not a bust at all, thought he was great.

It may be a set-back, but he's on his second stint on the 6-game (It's been 8 or 9 weeks). It may be a case of not rushing a young guy into game action when he's not at 100%. Or maybe he's just simply not eligible to come back yet after a being placed on the 6-gamer another time.

But at this point of the season with a rookie OL, and with Randolph being activating and looking good, not really expecting Wallace to factor in again.

Agree Wallace is the future, he may become a starter as soon as next season. For now Randolph is the better option to backup multiple positions and ride out the season, he may also become a starter next season if they shake the O-line up.

[J5V]

At this point in the season I think it's safe to assume that what we see this Saturday against Montreal is this season's version of the Bombers going forward. We've had two weeks to prepare and we have lots of film on Montreal. There should be no surprises.

Who Wants it More: I think both teams are going to want to win this game although the Bombers need it to determine their playoff seed and the Als are playing for pride. They are both playing with the desire to end the year on a positive note against a potential Grey Cup contender. The Bombers probably want it/need it, more.

The Threat of Injury: A legitimate concern for both teams as both are playoff bound. The Als *may* want to rest some players but I wouldn't count on it. If the game gets out of hand score wise for one team or the other, then I suspect key performers will find a seat on the bench for both clubs.

O-line Issues: I'm not sure the Bombers have the pieces to solve their leaky O-line issues. For them to be successful is going to depend on how well they can force Montreal to play honest. If they blitz the Bombers have to pick it up and give Zach time to burn Montreal's D. If they can successfully blitz Zach all day without consequence this game is going to be a big problem for this offense.

Montreal has their own O-line issues having lost starting guard Josh Donovan to a knee injury. He was carried off the field by his teammates and had to be carted away. Didn't look good.

Defense: Both defenses are capable of shutting down their opponents. Montreal with their linebackers and their propensity to blitz a lot, the Bombers with what is arguably the best secondary in the league. I'd be surprised if a lot of points were scored in this game.

Offense: Montreal has the edge unless the Bombers find a way to give Zach Collaros the time he needs to be effective. The Bombers like to rush only 3 a lot of the time so I don't see Cody Fajardo being pressured much unless the Bombers can take advantage of the Josh Donovan injury.

Turnovers: The team that makes the fewest mistakes may very well win this game. Turnovers will be a huge factor if one team or the other has ball security issues.

Special Teams: I see this as basically even although Montreal may have the more dangerous return game. Is this a game where Sergio Castillo kicks a 63 yarder to win it?

What to Expect: This could be the game of the year or a complete dud for one team or the other. Both have stumbled of late with Winnipeg losing a nail-biter to the Argos two weeks ago and Montreal getting smoked by BC last game. They both need to find their game to build some momentum going into the playoffs. I suspect that the team that finds their groove first may steamroll the other. It's really a toss-up which makes this game a hard one to predict but I'll give it a try. Bombers win this game late on a long Sergio Castillo field goal, 30-29.

[TecnoGenius]

O-line Issues: I'm not sure the Bombers have the pieces to solve their leaky O-line issues. For them to be successful is going to depend on how well they can force Montreal to play honest. If they blitz the Bombers have to pick it up and give Zach time to burn Montreal's D. If they can successfully blitz Zach all day without consequence this game is going to be a big problem for this offense.

If you have a decent DL, I don't see why anyone would blitz us.  The best teams have shown they can get through with 4 (or 3!).  Why waste coverage by blitzing?

So I would expect MTL to blitz only infrequently.  They'll bring blockers-minus-one: so if we have 6 OL they'll bring 5.  Just like TOR did.

What we need to watch out for is that bait & switch they use to pick on Zach's smarts.  Where they show a LBer vacating to pass rush but then drop a DL back into his place and pick Zach off throwing into the non-vacated vacated spot.  On short passes and quick beat-the-blitz throws it's hard for Zach to see this trick in advance of the windup.

I trust the Mafia Braintrust has come up with a solution and worked on it with Zach.  I hate it when teams out-Hall us.

[Pete]

Mtrl routinely rushes 5, but they bring them from a lot of different angles. Thorpe does a great job of disguising their rushes bringing a lb or db. Beverette gets in on a lot of different plays (8 tackles for loss 4 sacks), Cantin-Arku has 5 sacks
the main guy on dline that overpowers opponent is Johnson.
 

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

At this point in the season I think it's safe to assume that what we see this Saturday against Montreal is this season's version of the Bombers going forward. We've had two weeks to prepare and we have lots of film on Montreal. There should be no surprises.

Who Wants it More: I think both teams are going to want to win this game although the Bombers need it to determine their playoff seed and the Als are playing for pride. They are both playing with the desire to end the year on a positive note against a potential Grey Cup contender. The Bombers probably want it/need it, more.

The Threat of Injury: A legitimate concern for both teams as both are playoff bound. The Als *may* want to rest some players but I wouldn't count on it. If the game gets out of hand score wise for one team or the other, then I suspect key performers will find a seat on the bench for both clubs.

O-line Issues: I'm not sure the Bombers have the pieces to solve their leaky O-line issues. For them to be successful is going to depend on how well they can force Montreal to play honest. If they blitz the Bombers have to pick it up and give Zach time to burn Montreal's D. If they can successfully blitz Zach all day without consequence this game is going to be a big problem for this offense.

Montreal has their own O-line issues having lost starting guard Josh Donovan to a knee injury. He was carried off the field by his teammates and had to be carted away. Didn't look good.

Defense: Both defenses are capable of shutting down their opponents. Montreal with their linebackers and their propensity to blitz a lot, the Bombers with what is arguably the best secondary in the league. I'd be surprised if a lot of points were scored in this game.

Offense: Montreal has the edge unless the Bombers find a way to give Zach Collaros the time he needs to be effective. The Bombers like to rush only 3 a lot of the time so I don't see Cody Fajardo being pressured much unless the Bombers can take advantage of the Josh Donovan injury.

Turnovers: The team that makes the fewest mistakes may very well win this game. Turnovers will be a huge factor if one team or the other has ball security issues.

Special Teams: I see this as basically even although Montreal may have the more dangerous return game. Is this a game where Sergio Castillo kicks a 63 yarder to win it?

What to Expect: This could be the game of the year or a complete dud for one team or the other. Both have stumbled of late with Winnipeg losing a nail-biter to the Argos two weeks ago and Montreal getting smoked by BC last game. They both need to find their game to build some momentum going into the playoffs. I suspect that the team that finds their groove first may steamroll the other. It's really a toss-up which makes this game a hard one to predict but I'll give it a try. Bombers win this game late on a long Sergio Castillo field goal, 30-29.

You made a lot of good points, I think the key for the opposition in every game going forward is finding the best way to contain and limit Brady, if they can successfully do that the Bombers stand much less chance of winning. Both the Als and the Argos have very good front 7's, Buck needs to get Brady the ball behind those walls allowing him room to rumble and runover DB's.

[Mick]

You made a lot of good points, I think the key for the opposition in every game going forward is finding the best way to contain and limit Brady, if they can successfully do that the Bombers stand much less chance of winning. Both the Als and the Argos have very good front 7's, Buck needs to get Brady the ball behind those walls allowing him to rumble and runover DB's.

Montreal has the 2nd worst run defense in the league, we should have no problem pounding the ball with Brady.